iPhone wifi requests storm ahead of competition

By Ian Grass | staff writer

Published Thursday, December 18, 2008

Worldwide iPhone requests grew 52 per cent month over month to 359 million in November, giving the iPhone 6.3 per cent of total requests. In the US the iPhone is now the number one device with 9.9 per cent of requests.

The iPhone has by far the most WiFi usage, with 42 per cent of US requests coming in over wireless networks instead of a mobile operator network.

But the inclusion of WiFi on popular new smartphones such as the G1 and BlackBerry Bold indicates WiFi usage will continue to grow in the coming months. WiFi-only devices such as the iPod Touch and Sony PlayStation Portable also generated significant traffic.

In the US, 8 per cent of total requests in November were on WiFi networks, up from 3 per cent in August. 42 per cent of iPhone requests are made from WiFi, notably higher than most other WiFi capable phones which average between 10-20 per cent. iPhone WiFi usage is generally higher on iPhone specific sites and applications than on normal mobile sites.

In the UK, 8 per cent of requests in November were on WiFi networks, up from 4 per cent in August. After the iPhone and iPod Touch, the Nokia N95 and other N series phones are the leading WiFi devices.

Worldwide requests were flat in November at 5.8 billion. Requests from North America, Western Europe, Latin America, and Eastern Europe each increased more than 10 per cent month over month. These increases were offset by a decline in Indonesian inventory.

The G1 (HTC Dream) generated 15 million requests in November and already represents 7 per cent of all T-Mobile traffic. Android had a 2 per cent share of smartphone operating system traffic in the US.

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